And ... we are back

It's been a long week of lifting and hauling a lot of stuff, much of which isn't all that important or valuable. We are now largely settled with only a couple dozen boxes left to unpack. An entire garage stall has been cleared to make room for one car - a major accomplishment.

The day before we left, our previous landlord commented, "Remember when everything you owned would fit in the back of your car?"

I remembered moving to Southern California in 1980 and everything I owned fit in two suitcases.

Anyway, the week-long silence here has come to an end with an indeterminate schedule ahead - it is already clear that it will be much more difficult to spend as much time sitting in front of a computer as has been the case over the last two years.

Whereas the previous workspace offered a less-than-enticing view of the house next door and the sounds of barking dogs and an automobile vacuum favored by a neighbor who seems to have been running a used car lot out of his home, the new place offers the view below.


The silence is interrupted only occasionally by a vehicle driving past and, more than anything else, so far this feels like an extended camping trip with all the conveniences of home.

The smell of pine trees and the sound that is made when the wind whips through them is, sadly, already becoming routine - the novelty is quickly wearing off just like the sight of ubiquitous palm trees back in 1980.

Now begins a long period of adjustment - changes will be coming here at the blog, but there is no need to rush.

GDP fails to impress

It looks like there will be one more reason for stocks to rally today - the economic slowdown has been confirmed in the preliminary estimate for first quarter real GDP which came in at a puny 0.6 percent annualized rate.

When considering that inflation is understated by at least this amount, it's fair to say that real economic growth is now declining though you don't seem to hear the "R" word much these days. No one really remembers what an "inflationary recession" looks like.


Shrinking inventories and a rising trade deficit, largely due to higher oil prices, have been blamed for the poor result though none of this seems to matter if you were able to deftly switch from real estate back to stocks a year or two ago. It appears that precious metals are taking the news quite well so far.

What the Wall Street Journal calls the "economy's engine, consumer spending" was revised upward from a 3.8 percent increase to 4.4 percent. It contributed just over 3 percentage points to the overall total, from which negatives like residential investment and the trade deficit were then subtracted to get to the 0.6 percent figure.

When will the American consumer slow down? Will they ever slow down?

The overall inflation measure was revised downward from 3.4 percent to 3.3 percent and, excluding food and energy, prices rose only 2.2 percent.

It just doesn't feel like two or three percent inflation, does it?

The end of an era

Though news from Venezuela of Hugo Chavez and RCTV has not been checked in recent days, the last word was that the television station was being shut down amid protest. Vicente left a comment on the old Hummer post about the small role that this blog played in squashing free speech south of the border.

Dude, I don't know if you're in on this, but the picture you posted on your blog was used for a huge diffamation campaign in Venezuela, South America.

Story goes, a TV program showed your picture -after doing a lousy photoshopping job-, to accuse the government of corruption, buying too many Hummers, saying the picture was taken in the "Military Circle" where government people hang out.

Here's the TV show that had the "news" on it (sit through it even though you might not understand spanish, you'll see the pic about a minute into it):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmjX7_uvT1Y

So I just thought I'd let you know -you probably already do-, but things are getting wild over that pic. The government is closing the TV channel and is actually using that stupid stunt as irrefutable proof.

Anyways, welcome to Latinamerican politics, no holds barred,

Vicente.

The story of RCTV and excess Hummers was briefly chronicled here a few months back - it's hard to disagree with Hugo on this one.

Life goes on.